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1. Background

In India, police forces are under state jurisdiction (Associate Director 25 Apr. 2013; eGov 26 Apr. 2012; US 19 Apr. 2013). In correspondence with the Research Directorate, the Associate Director of the India Studies Program, who is also an associate professor in the Department of Criminal Justice at Indiana University that has researched the Indian police, indicated that each state is divided into districts, which are similar to US counties, led by a "Superintendent of Police/Commissioner" (Associate Director 25 Apr. 2013). The US Department of State's Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2012, states that "[t]he effectiveness of law enforcement and security forces varied widely throughout the country" (US 19 Apr. 2013).

2. Police Communication and Collaboration Between Stations

When asked specifically about police in Punjab, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, and Delhi, sources stated that these police forces communicate and collaborate with police stations in different states to find persons of interest (CPA 15 Apr. 2013; Lawyer 2 May 2013; Associate Director 25 Apr. 2013). The Associate Director of the India Studies Program added that "all these and every other state collaborate frequently" (ibid.).

2.1 Process

In correspondence with the Research Directorate, the Director of the Centre for Public Affairs (CPA) in Uttar Pradesh, India, a "society" that conducts research, develops policy options and promotes dialogue (CPA n.d.), indicated that if police officers want to follow a person of interest to another state to arrest him or her, "[t]hey have to seek the cooperation of the respective city, district and state, otherwise the question of jurisdiction would arise" (ibid. 15 Apr. 2013). The Associate Director of the India Studies Program similarly stated that "[f]or conducting searches or raids, the police are required by law to seek assistance of the local police. Thus, a police party may be sent to another state where it will seek cooperation from the concerned SP [Superintendent of Police] or local police to … search for a wanted person" (25 Apr. 2013).

The India Studies Program Associate Director indicated that Superintendents of Police (SP) can correspond with anyone anywhere in India (25 Apr. 2013). He stated that

"[n]ormally when assistance is required, the SP would write or call the SP of the concerned jurisdiction. If a state wide call for a missing person is to be given, then either the SP can send such a call to all the SPs of the concerned state or send it to [the] police headquarter[s] in the state capital and request such a call to be distributed to the SPs. Generally the latter." (ibid.)

In a telephone interview with the Research Directorate, a legal researcher from Voices for Freedom (VFF), an international NGO with offices in India, the UK, Canada and the US (VFF n.d.a ) that advocates for legal accountability and human rights (ibid. n.d.b), indicated that if police want to track down a person that fled to a different state, they may find the person's family and neighbours to ask them where the person went, then inform the police station in the location that the person fled to (VFF 24 Apr. 2013). The VFF legal researcher said that sometimes police travel to the state that the person fled to in order to arrest that person in collaboration with the police force in that state (ibid.). According to the Associate Director of the India Studies Program, when searching for a person, local police go "house to house or use other information," such as from the person's place of employment and neighbours to find the person, as "local police have contacts in every neighbourhood that are utilized" (25 Apr. 2013).

2.2 Reasons for a National or Inter-state Search

The CPA Director indicated that

[i]nter-city and inter-state communications take place between and amongst police organizations in cases of operations of inter-city and inter-state gangs of criminals. Though it is difficult to give precise instances, state-wide and nation-wide searches result in cases of criminals, offenders and anti-nationals either operating at such a scale or absconding from the place of offence. Two examples of such coordinated efforts [are] terrorism and [the] Maoist movement. (CPA 15 Apr. 2013)

The Associate Director of the India Studies Program indicated that the circumstances that would lead to a state-wide or national search for a person "are many - a wanted suspect, an alert for a fugitive, a missing person - occasionally even for a specific stolen vehicle" (25 Apr. 2013). In correspondence with the Research Directorate, a lawyer in New Delhi stated that police commmunicate with each other across different cities or states to find persons of interest, including criminal suspects, witnesses of crimes, and potential threats to national security (Lawyer 2 May 2013). The VFF legal fellow stated that the movitations for an inter-state search "could be anything," including for money, political influence, a personal vendetta, and real or perceived criminals (VFF 24 Apr. 2013).

2.3 Inter-state Meetings

Media sources report that inter-state meetings between police have been held to share intelligence (The Statesman 18 Jan. 2013; The Asian Age 15 July 2011). For example, the Asian Age, an Indian English-language daily newspaper (Factiva n.d.a), reports on a July 2011 inter-state coordination meeting of officials from Delhi, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, and Rajasthan that was organized to share "human and technical intelligence" between police and security forces (The Asian Age 15 July 2011). A joint commissioner of police reportedly stated that "'[b]esides the exchange of intelligence, strategies were chalked out for concerted action against active criminals, timely sharing of information, association in raids, dissemination of information on wanted criminals, dossiers, interrogation, etc.'" (ibid.). In 2011, India held its 28th All India Police Radio Officers conference, which brought together 80 representatives from various state and central police organizations to discuss, among other issues, police collaboration (Indian Government News 20 July 2011; Press Trust of India 20 July 2011).

3. Police Communications Technology

The Directorate of Coordination of Police Wireless operates under the Ministry of Home Affairs (Director 15 Apr. 2013; Kashmir Monitor 21 Apr. 2011). According to the CPA Director, the Directorate of Coordination of Police Wireless coordinates the flow of information between the Ministry of Home Affairs and state police forces (15 Apr. 2013). The Kashmir Monitor, a daily newspaper (Factiva n.d.b), similarly states that the Directorate of Coordination Police Wireless is in charge of establishing the police telecommunications network and maintaining coordination (21 Apr. 2011).

The CPA Director indicated that modern communication technology is being used significantly by the police force (CPA 15 Apr. 2013). He also indicated that police "use all the available resources" to find persons of interest in different states, including technological surveillance (ibid.). The New Delhi Lawyer also indicated that police use "technological surveillance" (Lawyer 2 May 2013).

3.1 Zonal Integrated Police Network (ZIPNet)

The CPA Director indicated that the Zonal Integrated Police Network (ZIPNet) is a satellite-based network (15 Apr. 2013). ZIPNet's objective is to share criminal information "in real-time" (ZIPNet July 2012). The CPA Director said that ZIPNet is a Union Territories initative and the Central Government seeks states to join (15 Apr. 2013). ZIPNet member states are: Delhi, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Punjab, Chandigarh, Uttrakhand, and Himachal Pradesh (ZIPNet July 2012). ZIPNet contains information on, among other things: FIRs, "most wanted" criminals, missing children, stolen vehicles, police alerts, daily police bulletins, jail releases, people on bail, press releases, and "messaging" (ibid.). Information on missing persons can be accessed by the public over the Internet (Delhi n.d.c). The India Studies Program Associate Director indicated that ZIPNet is operational but is only used within states (Associate Director 25 Apr. 2013). However, according to the CPA Director, ZIPNet is used "all over the country" and, despite "shortcomings", is a national network that is used to locate individuals that the police are seeking (15 Apr. 2013). The Lawyer corroborated that ZIPNet is used by police (2 May 2013).

According to the CPA Director, speaking about both ZIPNet and POLNET [for information on POLNET see Section 3.2]

[t]he shortcomings are in the process of slow information collection and uneven access, use and familiarity with technology, particularly at the cutting edge level. Despite the limitations, it is an effective instrument to the extent that a nationwide dataset is available for use and there is an instrument for greater inter-district, inter-state and nationwide coordination in detection of crime. (16 May 2013)

3.2 Police Communication Network (POLNET)

The Times of India, a daily English-language Indian newspaper (Factiva n.d.c), reports that the Police Communication Network (POLNET) is a satellite-based centralized communication network that integrates communication among police and investigation agencies across India (Times of India 20 Jan. 2013). The Kashmir Monitor states that the aim of POLNET is to establish "a direct link between all police stations for online crime and criminal information systems" (21 Apr. 2011). The Pioneer, an English-language Indian national newspaper (Factiva n.d.d), reports that POLNET is supposed to integrate police stations "through better voice, fax and data transmission capabilities" (31 Mar. 2010). Sources indicate that POLNET is being implemented by the Directorate of Coordination Police Wireless (The Times of India 20 Jan. 2013; Kashmir Monitor 21 Apr. 2011).

On 20 July 2011, Indian Government News reported that POLNET network facilities have been given to all police organizations. On 5 October 2012, in an interview with eGOV, a magazine about e-Government in Asia-Pacific and the Middle East (Factiva n.d.e), a representative of Bharat Electronics Ltd (BEL), a company that has implemented POLNET in India, stated that

"about 11,000 police stations are connected to 850 district headquarters and 45 state headquarters…The police stations have voice communication facilities, the district headquaters have voice and data connectivity and the state headquarters have video, voice and data connectivity using satellites." (eGov 5 Oct. 2012)

Sources report on the existence of POLNET in several states, including: Haryana (UNI 13 July 2012; Punjab News Line 13 July 2012),Tamil Nadu (Tamil Nadu n.d.), and Punjab (Punjab n.d.b)

On 20 January 2013, the Times of India reported that POLNET "is yet to reach its full potential because of poor coordination" between the central government and state governments. The Associate Director of the India Studies Program indicated that POLNET is operational but only used within states (Associate Director 25 Apr. 2013). However, according to the CPA Director, POLNET is used to find suspects both within states and between states (16 May 2013). The Associate Director of the India Studies Program added that "[a]n integrated all-India police network is still not operational" (ibid.). According to the CPA Director, POLNET is "still not fully functional," yet despite its shortcomings, is still used to locate individuals (15 Apr. 2013). The Lawyer corroborated that POLNET is used by police (2 May 2013).

According to the Karnataka State Police, a police wireless communication system is being used across the entire state of Karnataka, to "facilitate quick communication between various police officers of the state and also of other states through the inter-state police network" to detect "crime and criminals" (n.d.a). The Karnataka State Police also indicate that this police wireless system can also be used by "other government departments" to share crime-related information (n.d.a). The police wireless system consists of several different means of communication, which include: "high frequency" and "very high frequency" communication systems, fax communication, land line communication, paging services, and a mobile telephone system (Karnataka n.d.a). The Karnataka police indicate that messages can be sent to "all places provided with police wireless stations in the various states" through the state capitals (ibid.). Karnataka police provide a list of purposes that the messaging system can be used for, including: movement of suspects, movement of criminals registered in the District Crime Record Bureau and Criminal Investigation Department, arrests, murder cases, "dacoities," searches of stolen property, corruption cases, court attendance, "verification of allegations against persons suspected in cases investigated by police," "descriptive rolls" of military and police deserters, "identification parade," missing persons, verification of ex-convicts, escape of prisoners, and intra and inter-state police conferences (ibid.).

3.4 Crime and Criminal Tracking Network System (CCTNS)

In an interview with eGov, the Joint Secretary of the Ministry of Home Affairs stated that the Crime and Criminal Tracking Network and Systems (CCTNS) is a system intended to "facilitate collection, storage, retrieval, analysis, transfer and sharing of data and information at the police station and between the police station and the state headquarters and the Central Police Organisations" (eGov 6 Feb. 2013a). Sources indicate that CCTNS is a national infrastructure with an IT-enabled tracking system (Indian Government News 4 Sept. 2012; Zee News 4 Jan. 2013), and a comprehensive database for crimes and criminals (ibid.). Indian Government News states that, with CCTNS, police can investigate and detect criminals in "real time" (4 Sept. 2012). Mena Report, a pan-Arab online business news source based in the United Arab Emirates (Factiva n.d.f), states that CCTNS will link state and national crime records bureaus, creating a central records database that can be accessed from any police station in India (Mena Report 18 Sept. 2012). Further information could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response. Futuregov, a media business publishing print and online publications for Asia's public sector (Futuregov n.d.), reports that CCTNS will also contain information from forensic laboratories and fingerprint bureaus (7 Jan. 2013). eGov similarly states that the National Automated Fingerprint Identification System and the Fingerprint Enrolment Device may be used to find criminals based on fingerprints and other biometrics (6 Feb. 2013b). The Indian Express reports that, with CCTNS, all police stations in India will have access to information about anyone that has an FIR [First Information Report] registered about them (6 Dec. 2012). Sources indicate that CCTNS will improve the ability of police officers to track down suspects who move around (Indian Government News 8 May 2012; Zee News 4 Jan. 2013). According to the Inspector General of Police in Madhya Pradesh, "[o]nce the system is in place, we would be able to track criminals throughout the country" (eGov 26 Apr. 2012).

Media sources indicate that CCTNS will connect 14,000 police stations across the country (Futuregov 7 Jan. 2013; Zee News 4 Jan. 2013). Indian Government News states that the government "proposes" to launch CCTNS in all police stations across India (8 May 2012). On 5 January 2013, the Minister of Home Affairs reportedly stated that CCTNS was being piloted in 25 states and union territories (Security-Risks.com 5 Jan. 2013). Futuregov also states that CCTNS "currently covers 25 states and union territories" with plans to be extended to all 35 states and union territories (7 Jan. 2013). The Hindu, an independent Indian daily newspaper (Factiva n.d.g), states that, although the goal of CCTNS is to link together at least 14,000 police stations and 6,000 police headquarters, according to police sources, "it will be years before the project is rolled out nationwide" (The Hindu 4 Mar. 2013).

The Ministry of Home Affairs Joint Secretary reportedly said that CCTNS is a Government of India initiative that is under the National e-Governance Plan, but that it is being implemented at the state level (eGov 6 Feb. 2013a). He added that the level of implementation varies across states, for example, the state of Karnataka has completed implementation, but some states have not yet started implementing CCTNS (ibid.). With regard to CCTNS data centres, the Joint Secretary said that all of them have been established and data centres have also been connected with the NCRB [National Crime Records Bureau] (ibid.). The Joint Secretary said that data centres are digitizing 10 years of information, "mostly" on cases related to crime and property rather than "minor issues" (ibid.). The Joint Secretary said that "all available platforms" including mobile phones would be utilized under CCTNS, as police stations in remote areas may not have electricity for "days," and added that "intelligence alerts would be sent to senior police officers via SMS alerts under the system" (ibid.). A NCRB Joint Director stated that, due to issues of connectivity, applications will be able to be used in "offline mode," and when power has been restored, information would be "synchronised with state data centres and the national data centre" (26 Apr. 2012). In regards to communicating across languages, the Joint Secretary stated that transliteration software is available (eGov 6 Feb. 2013a). Other CCTNS features mentioned by the Joint Secretary include an automatic finger print identification system and a facial recognition system (ibid.).

On 5 February 2013, Daily News and Analysis (DNA), a daily Mumbai-based newspaper (Factiva n.d.h), reported that the NCRB announced that it was going to provide all police stations across India with fingerprint scanners. DNA reports that, according to officials, the scanners would help in "maintaining an integrated system of sharing fingerprint data via interstate connectivity, which would help [in] tracing criminals and anti-social elements across the states" (5 Feb. 2013). This system is reportedly called the Automated Finger Indentification System (AFIS) and consists of a national fingerprint database that can be accessed in "real time" (DNA 5 Feb. 2013). eGov reports that, according to a former police officer who has studied AFIS, the headquarters of the NCRB and 22 state headquarters have AFIS (6 Feb. 2013b). However, the former officer reportedly adds that "[i]n some states like Madhya Pradesh, AFIS and NCRB have almost stopped functioning and are lying defunct" (eGov 6 Feb. 2013b). The former police officer indicates that a national automated fingerprint identification system (NAFIS) has been developed (ibid.).

3.6 Subsidiary Multi Agency Centres (SMAC)

The following paragraph contains information from a 3 January 2009 Times of India article. According to a governmental executive order, states can exchange intelligence directly "without going into procedural hassles." Subsidiaries of the Multi Agency Centre (MAC), an agency in the intelligence bureau that is responsible for information coordination and distribution, exist in Mumbai, Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad, Srinagar, Kolkata and Ahmedabad, and that "other state capitals will have them soon." SMACs will "process and analyse local intelligene inputs in coordination with the nodal [central] agency in Delhi," and will also be a "data bank of terrorists and extremists". SMACs reportedly will be linked with local areas through POLNET and will "allow all states and major urban areas to collect and disseminate information among central, state and local agencies involved in combatting terrorism." Further information could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.

3.7 National Intelligence Grid (NATGRID) Plan

Sources indicate that the National Intelligence Grid (NATGRID) aims to link together 21 databases which can be accessed by 11 government agencies, including the intelligence bureau (Tehelka 13 Nov. 2010; DNA 15 June 2011; The Times of India 15 June 2012). DNA reports that a variety of organizations will be required to integrate their databases with NATGRID (15 June 2011). Sources indicate that the type of information that will be accessible in NATGRID includes:

rail and air travel information (DNA 15 June 2011; Times of India 15 June 2012)

A national population registry will be established by the 2011 Census, during which fingerprints and iris scans would be taken along with GPS records of each household.

Once the Natgrid is in place, security agencies will need to just feed your name into the system and all information about you will be available at the click of a button. Apart from this, important information that every police or intelligence agency receives will also be fed to the grid, thereby enabling the agencies to coordinate their strategy. (ibid.)

DNA corroborates that, with NATGRID, an investigation agency can enter someone's name and receive all of the person's information (15 June 2011). On 7 October 2012, the Indo-Asian News Service reported that the Ministry of Home Affairs was seeking a consultant to start working on the implementation of NATGRID. According to DNA, "[l]aw enforcement and security agencies already have access to most of these records even now, but they work individually, and the information is not available all together" (15 June 2011). Corroborating information could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response. Further information on the status and implementation of NATGRID could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.

4. Selected State-specific Police Information

According to the Tamil Nadu police, police officers are equipped with communications such as: voice communication, "microwave link" enabling voice communication and data transmission between state headquarters and district headquarters, an email based software, a state-wide data network linking all police stations and other units (Tamil Nadu n.d.). The Tamil Nadu police also indicate that they have "regular or extensive use" of: telephones, mobile phones, fax, wireless sets and internet" (ibid.).

The Delhi police website contains a "daily bulletin" which seeks help from the public to identify people (Delhi n.d.a). Delhi police also post names and pictures of "most wanted" criminals on their website (Delhi n.d.b)

The Andhra Pradesh police force is implementing "large scale computerization across the state" (Andhra Pradesh n.d). The Andhra Pradesh police website reports on a "search engine based application" in which users can search the databases of different departments for investigation purposes, to detect crime, and to verify information (ibid.). This tool includes vehicle tracing, telephone tracking, a ration card search, voter ID card tracking, and education tracking (ibid.). This data can be accessed by all police officers at any time throughout the day at their "workplace" (ibid.). The Andhra Pradesh police department also has an online application for information sharing related to repeat offenders, and a messaging system used by police officers across the state to send and receive instant messages (ibid.).

The Punjab police indicates that the Punjab Police Headquarters and all district police offices have "Broadband Internet Connectivity" in order to send emails (Punjab n.d.a). The Punjab police also enter criminal records into a "criminal records management system" maintained by the NCRB, and a motor vehicle coordinating system at the state and district level to input information on stolen vehicles (ibid.). The Punjab police also use the NCRB's "Organized Crime Information System" which is an online application to enter data related to "various agencies involved in oganized criminal activities" (ibid.).

Mumbai's anti-terrorism squad exchanges information with central information agencies, and similar agencies in various states (Mumbai n.d.a). According to the Mumbai police website, if a person is missing, the efforts that the police would take to find this person include: publishing a description of the person in a "Police Notice" and a wireless message and issuing a "circular" containing the person's description and photograph to all police stations, and visiting numerous places to search for the missing person (Mumbai n.d.b).

Chapter 24 of the Karnataka State Police Police Manual provides guidelines related to surveillance of persons, and states:

1120. (a) Movements of the following will be promptly reported by one Station House Officer to another in Enquiry Roll Form A (Form No. 110).

The receipt of such roll will be immediately acknowledged and a report as to the presence of the bad character made with the least possible delay. If the person to be closely watched becomes a temporary resident within the limits of another station, he should be entered by the police of the latter station in the register in Form No. 105 vide Order 1078.

1121. The roll will be retained until the individual moves on, when it will be forwarded to the station of his destination. If this station is other than the one at which the criminal is registered, the Station House Officer of the latter station will be informed of the movement. (Karnataka n.d.b)

Article 1122, section (b) states that "[i]n the case of a criminal who is known to have gone to another State, Enquiry Roll Form A (Form No. 110) in English will be sent direct to the Station House Officer of the Station of the other State" (Karnataka n.d.b). Information regarding implementation could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.

eGov reports that, according to a Deputy Commissioner of Police in Rajasthan, an online database of standing warrants resulted in more arrests in two months than in the last 5-6 years, as police officers were finding suspects in their areas (26 Apr. 2012).

On 27 May 2012, DNA reported that, for the first time, the three states of Rajasthan, Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh are sharing information related to criminals, for cases such as narcotics and animal smuggling. DNA also stated that "any police station in the three states will be able to access data from any other police station and act accordingly" (27 May 2012). According to the Superintendant of Police of the State Crime Records Bureau, in the past when criminals fled to different states, police officers would have to follow the criminal to the other state, but with "the new mechanism," the police station can communicate with the state that the suspect has fled to and the police station in that state can locate the individual (DNA 27 May 2012).

On 11 September 2012, the Hindustan Times reports that the Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan police have decided to work together to catch criminals at inter-state borders and share intelligence. Further information could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.

5. Arrests of Inter-State Suspects

Several sources report of arrests of inter-state suspects (Press Trust of India 13 Apr. 2012; ibid. 2 Dec. 2012; Postnoon 11 Mar. 2013), including an inter-state criminal gang that was active in Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Maharashtra (Press Trust of India 13 Apr. 2012), an inter-state gang involved in a theft case (ibid. 2 Dec. 2012), and an inter-state group of 10 robbers from Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh that conducted robberies in the states of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, and in Hyderabad and Cyberabad areas [in the state of Andhra Pradesh] (Postnoon 11 Mar. 2013). The Delhi police state that they caught an inter-state gang of auto lifters after they received intelligence about them and "camp[ing] out in various states" (Delhi 2013). United News of India (UNI), reports that Daltonganj and Chainpur police forces conducted a joint operation and arrested an inter-state gang after receiving a "secret tip" about their location (UNI 13 Mar. 2013). According to the Lawyer, "public informers" are also used by police to find persons of interest in different states (2 May 2013).

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim for refugee protection. Please find below the list of sources consulted in researching this Information Request.

The Asian Age. 15 July 2011. "Stress on Sharing Info for Security." (Factiva)

Associate Director, India Studies Program, Indiana University. 25 April 2013. Correspondence sent to the Research Directorate.

Centre for Public Affairs (CPA), Uttar Pradesh. 16 May 2013. Correspondence from the Director to the Research Directorate.
_____. 15 April 2013. Correspondence from the Director to the Research Directorate.
_____. N.d. [Accessed 22 Apr. 2013]

Oral sources: Attempts to contact the following individuals and representatives of organizations were unsuccessful within the time constraints of this Response: Advocate and Notary; Asian Human Rights Commission; Canada - High Commission of Canada in India; Director of India Initiative at the Center on the Global Legal Profession; Human Rights Advocate at the Supreme Court and the Punjab and Haryana High Court; India - Directorate of Coordination Police Wireless, High Commission of India in Ottawa, Ministry of Home Affairs; Khaitan and Co. Advocates; National Human Rights Commission; Police - Andhra Pradesh, Bangalore City, Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai, Punjab, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh; Professor of Law at the American University. The following individuals could not provide information for this Response: Chairman of the Centre for Multilevel Federalism, representative of SWAYAM, Political Science Professor at the University of California.

Copyright notice: This document is published with the permission of the copyright holder and producer Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada (IRB). The original version of this document may be found on the offical website of the IRB at http://www.irb-cisr.gc.ca/en/. Documents earlier than 2003 may be found only on Refworld.